Of Turtles and Leagues
by Jess Marylin
Summary: Sequel to A Different Kind of Mutant. Sixteen year old Cade and three of her cousins are thrown into another dimension. They must rely on the unexpected to help them get home. On temporary hiatus.
1. Grief

_TMNT does not belong to me. Just Cade, Delaney, Layla, Toby & Co._

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><p>"How many times did Dad tell you not to touch that?" Fifteen-year-old Delaney asked irritably, her mismatched hazel and blue eyes glaring through her periwinkle mask at her red-masked cousin. Cade just shrugged and flipped one of her silver sais.<p>

"Actually, Laney, he told you, Aaron, and Toby. Toby specifically." Their second youngest cousin was very much like his father, their Uncle Mike. Same _exact_ personality. Completely unable to keep his hands to himself. His little brother Yoshi was usually right behind him. "And besides, it's not like it's gonna make much of a difference. That piece of scrap hasn't worked since your brother dropped it," the sixteen-year-old said, her accent almost the same as her hotheaded father's. With just a hint of her mother's Southern in there.

Donatello's daughter rolled her eyes in much the same way her father always did. "It doesn't matter, Cay. We don't know _anything_ about it. For all we know it could be a bomb set to go off if someone tampers with it too much."

Cade's eye ridges rose, but she pulled her hand back from the small piece of machinery, "Then why keep it?"

"Well, maybe because it's clearly _not_ a bomb?" Delaney said, earning her a scowl from her older cousin and best friend. "Yeah, I know I said it might be one, but the configuration doesn't match the blueprints of any explosive device I've ever studied." Like her father, Delaney found solace in science, "In fact, the alloy is of a kind not even used in bomb manufacturing. That, and I didn't see any type of trigger or trip-wire when Dad examined it. Still-"

Raphael's eldest rolled her eyes, "Spare me the lecture, Genius Junior." The younger turtle girl narrowed her eyes at the moniker. Her Uncle Raph had christened her and Aaron, her twin brother, that when they were just kids. And, of course, her cousins had picked up on it quickly. Cade was the only one who used it frequently. She was more like her father than her younger brother was. Trevor was more like Aunt Annie. Very much in control of himself. Cade was known for blowing up occasionally. Not as much as when they were kids, but it was still an issue. Delaney suspected that the reason why her oldest cousin was doing better was because of the time Uncle Leo spent meditating with the headstrong teenager.

But now that Grandpa had just passed away... Uncle Leo was spending more time by himself. And, on top of grieving Grandpa Splinter along with everyone else, Cade was also missing that special time with their blue-masked uncle. Which was why she was now snapping at her favorite cousin.

"Look, Cade. You're not the only one hurting here," Delaney said, finally snapping. Cade stiffened, fists clenched. "I miss Grandpa too. And I know you're frustrated. Uncle Leo's not trying to ignore you. And anyways, if he was, I wouldn't blame him," the younger turtle said, the tears finally falling down her face. "The whole world doesn't revolve around you, Cade!"

Delaney stood up fast to escape her father's lab and her green-eyed cousin, only managing to run into her Uncle Mike's arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and cried silently into his plastron as he rubbed comforting circles on her shell.

"What's going on, girls? Cay?" the orange-masked turtle asked, looking at his oldest niece.

Cade just shook her head and stalked off, growling softly. Raphael looked up from the dojo area where he was sparring with his fifteen-year-old son. His wife, Annaleigh, who was seven months pregnant with their own set of twins, got up to follow their headstrong daughter.

Uncle Raph shook his head, "I got it, Wildcat. Why don't you help Trev with his meditation?"

Delaney tried to tune it all out as she clung to her Uncle Mikey. She just wanted Grandpa back. Shell, she'd managed to keep her cool so far. Why was she falling apart now? Cade really hadn't acted any different from normal. _I guess losing Grandpa is finally starting to get to me._ Her dad had always said that she was emotionally tough, like her mother. It was Aaron who'd gone hysterical first when Uncle Leo had told all of the teenage turtles the bad news. Mom and Dad were in the garage right now, talking with her twin. Delaney wanted them right then. But she dare not follow Cade up there now. Like Uncle Raph, sometimes Cade just needed her space. This was definitely one of those times.

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><p>Cade stomped through the garage, completely ignoring her Uncle Don and Aunt Amie as they called to her. It wasn't long before she was racing across the roof tops of New York. Completely aware that her father was following her the whole time. <em>Why the shell can't he just leave me alone? Can't he just get it through his thick head that I <em>don't_ want to talk about it?_

But there was no use trying to outrun Daddy. She knew 'cause she'd tried it before. So, she kept going until she reached the park, stopping in the middle of the woods so that her father could catch up.

She kept her shell turned firmly toward him as he approached, "I'm fine, Daddy. I'm not gonna do anything stupid." Cade turned slowly toward him, "Just needed some air."

Raphael nodded, then wrapped her in his big arms, "I know you're not gonna do anythin' stupid. You're _a lot_ smarter than I was at your age. But you're sure as shell not fine. I'm not _that_ dumb."

Cade gave a half-hearted chuckle, burying her face in his chest. "Why Grandpa, Daddy? I mean, yeah he was old. But he wasn't _that_ old. I just want him back," she finished with a soft sob.

Raph tightened his arms around his daughter, "I know, Sweetie." His voice almost choked. "Splinter was my dad, ya know. I miss him just as much as you do."

"I'm sorry for being such a pain. I just... I just don't know what else to do," Cade said miserably.

Her dad kissed the top of her head, "You're not a pain. You're just hurting like the rest of us. There's nothin' wrong in losing it every once in a while. Better to stomp off then to explode. I should know. I was _a lot_ worse when I was your age."

"So I've heard," she said, trying to keep her voice light as she looked up at her Daddy's amber eyes.

Raph's expression was just a little stern, "Ya might want to apologize to Laney, though. She seemed pretty upset."

Cade pulled away and sighed, rubbing tear-filled eyes with her knuckles, "I know. I didn't mean to hurt her."

* * *

><p>Thirteen-year-old Layla was currently trying to get her father to stop meditating. Her blue-masked father had been sitting in Lotus position in his and her mother's room for much longer than normal. But Leonardo was extremely focused, so much so that nothing short of an emergency would get him to snap out of it. And the shapeshifting young turtle was fresh out of those.<p>

"Daddy, c'mon!" She tried snapping her fingers in front of his face, but that didn't work. She tried everything she could think of, and then some. Her dad didn't even flinch. Her eyes changed to a deep red out of frustration before turning back to their normal pupiless, silvery brown. Sometimes she loved his focus, like when he spent time with her alone, especially when they did their katas or went out on patrol together. But now...

"Daddy, everyone's hurting too you know." She curled up in his lap like she used to when she was little, breathing a sigh of relief when he finally moved and wrapped his arms around her.

"I know, Lotus Blossom," he answered softly, using his special nickname for her. "But I've got to gain control of myself. It won't help the family if I lose it now."

"If you did lose it, Daddy, I won't tell." He chuckled softly and kissed her cheek.

"You're just like your mother, you know that?"

"Funny, love. I was just about to say that she takes after you," Steph said as she settled on the bed next to them, offering him a mug of Splinter's favorite tea.

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><p>Thirteen-year-old Toby was sitting with his mother on the couch while his dad comforted Delaney. He'd felt his grandfather die. And since then, he'd been completely silent. Which was completely unlike him. His uncles always said that 'Mikey Jr.' would have been a better name for him. His dad was still quite the goof usually too, but nowhere near the prankster that his uncles and aunts said that Michelangelo used to be.<p>

Sensing Grandpa's death wasn't the only thing keeping him quiet. Like his mother, he could sense everyone's emotions. Uncle Leo was in shock, trying to keep himself centered for everyone else's sake. Uncle Raph had been simmering rage, taking out his feelings by helping Trevor with his self-defense until he'd followed Cade out. Uncle Don was guilty regret as he and Aunt Amie comforted Aaron, both father and son were feeling like they could have done _something_. And Dad was completely opposite from his usually cheerful self.

Everyone else was feeling their grief in different ways as well. The only ones who weren't hurting were Uncle Raph's twins who weren't even born yet and Toby's little brother, Yoshi, who, because he was only five, didn't yet understand death. All the kid knew was that Papa Splinter had gone away and wasn't coming back.

Toby's eyes shown his normal violet as he 'tasted' everyone's current state of mind, changing to baby blue for a moment. Unlike his mother, Toby was capable of shutting off his ability. But only for a certain amount of time. He just hoped that everyone was feeling better by the time it did. Sometimes, his empathy was just too much for him to handle.

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><p><em>Please R&amp;R.<em>


	2. Dark Shadow

_TMNT does not belong to me. Just Cade, Delaney, & Co. Big thanks to Izazayzay for reviewing!_

_Okay, I think I'm gonna try to stick to just Cade and Delaney's POVs with bits of Layla and Toby's perspectives sprinkled throughout._

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><p>It was the middle of the night and Cade still couldn't sleep. Judging by the light that was on in the Great Room, she guessed that at least one of her uncles couldn't either. No surprise there. She looked over at the bunkbed that Layla and Delaney shared, thinking about waking Laney. But the second oldest turtle kid wasn't in her bottom bunk. She was probably out in the main room working on some project with her dad and twin. The three of them did that frequently.<p>

"Hey, Layla," she whispered. Being a light-sleeper like Uncle Leo, the younger girl woke instantly.

"Huh? Cade, what time is it? Is it time for training?"

Cade shook her head, forgetting for a minute that her cousin couldn't see in the dark. "No. It's midnight."

Layla gave her a disapproving glare that was almost identical to her father's, "Then why wake me up?"

"'Cause Laney's up."

The shapeshifting turtle rolled her eyes, her skin turning black before shifting back to her normal mint green. "That's not a good enough reason."

"Maybe she and Uncle Donnie are working on that fake bomb..." Cade trailed off, trying to appeal to smaller turtle's curiosity. It worked.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Layla slid off the top bunk. Cade chuckled and shook her head while she led the way out.

Laney was in the lab, but Uncle Don and Aaron weren't with her. Toby was. And judging from Delaney's cat eyes and scowl, Toby had just tried to tinker with the off-limits machine. Probably to distract himself. Cade felt sorry for him. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to feel every little emotion that went through everyone's heads. _Must be overwhelming. I'm glad that I'm just a cat turtle._

"Toby, _both_ Dad and Uncle Leo told you to leave it alone! Why don't you try _listening_ for once? We don't know anything about it. It could be dangerous."

"Aaron dropped it and nothing happened," Toby pouted.

Cade shook her head. Judging from the small growl that Delaney gave, it looked like she was gonna have to intervene. Since Cade was the oldest of the younger turtles, Uncle Leo had made her the leader. She hated being the boss. In fact, she was still trying to convince her blue-masked uncle to make Delaney the leader instead. Laney would do a much better job than her.

Cade took a few seconds to calm herself, before stepping in. Because of losing Grandpa, everyone was already on edge. Especially herself. She didn't really want a repeat of earlier. No matter how much she wanted to blow up, she couldn't afford to. Her cousins needed her to handle this calmly. Or World War III would break out in the Lair. Again.

"Toby, for all we know, Aaron was lucky. And even if he wasn't, that thing's just a hunk of metal. It's not worth making Uncle Donnie mad." Donatello hardly ever got mad. But on the rare occasion that he did, it was scary. She remembered the time that her purple-masked uncle had _flattened_ her father for accidentally knocking over and breaking a project that he'd been working on for _weeks_. That had been years ago, but the ferocity of her uncle's anger kept the memory fresh in her mind.

Toby shivered. He remembered too. But then he brightened up, his eyes changing to his dad's blue. He was shutting them out again. Which was okay with Cade. She hated seeing him mope around, no matter how _annoying_ he could get.

"Hey, since we're all up, why don't we play that video game? You know, the one that all four of us can play together?"

Cade and Delaney rolled their eyes while Layla nodded enthusiastically.

The oldest teenager pinched the bridge of her beak, "Fine."

Toby and Layla almost let out a whoop, but were silenced by their older cousins' hands on their mouths.

"But we gotta be _quiet_," Laney hissed. "Our dads will _kill_ us if they find us up so late."

Toby and Layla nodded then started to bound off in the direction of the couch. Cade shook her head. _Oh well. At least they're trying._ She met Delaney's eyes and knew that her cousin was thinking the same thing.

And that's when everything changed.

The small block of a mahine on Uncle Donnie's desk lit up. Toby must have managed to play with it some before Laney had caught him. Cade fully expected an explosion, but there was just a flash of bright light.

And the Lair was gone.

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><p>Delaney opened her eyes. The bright light was gone. So was the machine. And so was the Lair, in fact. She, Cade, Layla, and Toby were all standing in exactly the same places that they had been when the little machine turned on. But the four of them were the only ones there. <em>Wherever <em>here_ is._

Toby immediately panicked, moving close to Cade and clinging to her like he always did when he was spooked. Layla also moved closer to her older cousins, but she had both her katanas unsheathed. Since the younger turtles were thirteen, they were a lot more obsessive over their weapons than she and Cade were. They carried those things _everywhere_.

It was a wonder that the older teenagers even had theirs on them. Cade's sais were in her hands and Delaney found that she was already twirling her bo. But, like the periwinkle masked turtle had noted earlier, they were the only ones in the deserted alleyway. It didn't look like any alley that Delaney had ever seen in New York.

There was the sound of running footsteps and all four teenaged turtles disappeared into the shadows. A guy ran down the alley, panicking when he'd realized that it was a dead end. He turned quickly around, looking for any means of escape. Laney stiffened when the guy's gaze locked onto the fire escape that she'd seen Layla climb up. The mismatch-eyed turtle gripped her bo staff harder, but there was no need. A dark shadow came barreling into the alley, stopping when the guy aimed a gun at it.

The dark shadow was tall and caped. And he had what looked ears on the top of his mask. Delaney stiffened when lightning flashed and she saw the black bat symbol on his chest. _No way!_ Batman was just a comic book character! Cade's favorite superhero. Not a real life person. But the masked vigilante that was currently narrowing shining eyes at the spooked thug was _definitely_ real. And he moved just the like the Batman in Cade's favorite cartoons. Evading all three shots the goon managed to get off before knocking the man flat. Batman crouched over the creep and bound the guys hands. The Dark Knight stood to leave, but froze.

He was looking in the _exact_ direction that Toby had disappeared. Her jokester of a cousin had always had the hardest time staying still. Uncle Leo was constantly getting onto him for that fault. And now that fault was going to get him in _big_ trouble. _Much_ bigger than one of Uncle Leo's lectures.

From what Delaney knew of the Batman, from all the comics she'd read and all the cartoons and movies that she, Aaron, and Cade had watched, was that the closest thing Batman had come to mutants so physically different like them was the Killer Croc, a supervillian. And, in most incarnations, the Croc was more human than the four turtles were.

Batman would immediately think that they were some sort of criminal monsters that belonged to some deranged scientist. He would _not_ hesistate to knock them all into next week.

All Delaney could think of was protecting her younger cousins. Apparently, Cade was thinking the same thing.

'Cause one of the red-masked girl's smoke pellets went off. And both Cade and Delaney moved in sync, aiming not for the Batman, but for the street behind him. Drawing him away from the two thirteen-year-olds.

And, of course, Layla and Toby hadn't realized that that was what the plan was. Both younger turtles came up behind the Batman, Toby's yellow nunchuks whirling and Layla's silvery-blue handled swords once again clutched firmly in her hands. Batman's attention turned to the younger two.

_Shell!_

"Oh shell you don't!" Cade yelled, throwing herself at Batman just a second after their cousins. Delaney followed suit. Only to be kicked away by Cade as the older turtle slashed at the Batman with one of her sai.

"Get them out of here, Laney!"

But she hesitated, uncertainty flashing in her hazel and blue eyes.

"Now!" Cade roared, trying to pull herself out of the superhero's grip. Cade was strong but Batman was strong too. For a normal human.

Layla, now pale-skinned and white-shelled in fear, pulled on the periwinkle masked turtle's arm and the three of them disappeared into the night. Delaney pressed a button on her shell cell to activate the tracer in Cade's phone. Even though Batman was a good guy, there was no way that they were going to leave their cousin behind for long. Hamatos stuck together. No matter what. And Delaney highly doubted that Bruce Wayne would be able to crack the security systems on Cade's phone. Those had been created by _three_ supergeniuses. There was only one Batman. Thankfully.

As soon as the three of them got a safe distance away both thirteen-year-olds clung to her, shivering violently. Delaney gently pried them off of her before checking herself and them for any bat tracers. She found one on all three of them, just as she'd thought. Quickly, she stuffed all three devices in a trash bag in a dumpster before leading Toby and Layla to a safer spot. No sense in the Batman catching up to them until Cade managed to convince him that they were good guys too.

Delaney almost froze when she realized what she'd just been thinking. _Here I am relying on Cade's diplomacy skills._ Cade was just as impatient and almost as hotheaded as Uncle Raph in tight spots._ We're dead. We are _so_ dead!_

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><p><em>Oh, and Batman doesn't belong to me either. :)<em>

_Please R&R._


	3. Kidnapped

_TMNT and Batman do not belong to me. Just Cade, Delaney & Co._

_Big thanks to Huntress of Light for reviewing!_

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><p>Even though it was obvious that there was no way that she could escape, Cade kept struggling. She needed to distract the Batman wannabe as long as she could so that her cousins could get away. It was the least she could do, since this was all her fault.<p>

Batman was her favorite superhero. Cade knew that he wouldn't have attacked them at all if she had just stayed calm. But, no. Like the hotheaded Bonehead that she was, she'd attacked him.

The only thing that she'd been thinking of was keeping her cousins from being seen. Now, he'd seen all four of them and thought they were bad guys, thanks to her. And as soon as he had Cade locked up, he'd go searching for Delaney, Layla, and Toby. _Well, you definitely screwed this up, Cade. Like always._ This was why she thought that Delaney would be a better leader.

"What are you?" Batman look-a-like growled, eyes narrowing. The infamous Bat-glare. She'd seen it enough in the cartoons that it didn't even faze her.

"First of all, shell-for-brains, it's _who_ not _what_." His eyes widened as she glared, cat-eyed, right back at him. "Second, you're not gonna believe a word I tell ya anyway, Batman. If you really are him, that is."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He glared at her again, harder this time.

She smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know." Cade kicked her foot against his instep and managed to pull away. She started running and just managed to reach the fire escape when something pricked her shoulder. Instantly, she started feeling dizzy. But she wasn't about to let herself get caught again. Cade started climbing the ladder, well aware of the Batman right behind her. She reached the roof before him, but her victory was short-lived.

She passed out.

Only to wake up somewhere dark and drafty. For a minute, Cade thought that she was back in the sewers, that she was camping out with Daddy. That was until she turned her aching head and saw the metal bars. There was quiet chirping and the flurry of small wings. She was in the Batcave.

In a _cage_.

_Wonderful. Oh well. At least he didn't try taking me to Arkham._

She knew without even looking that Batman had taken her belt and weapons. Cade reached up to adjust her mask only to find it gone. For some reason, that angered her even more than the fact that her sais were gone.

And then, he was suddenly _there_. And he wasn't alone. Cade was not surprised when she recognized the younger man. Running into a _real_ Batman when she'd been sure that he was just pretend was enough to shut down her shock factor. _Shell, I'm starting to sound like Laney._

So, instead of staring wide-eyed up at them, she glared, focusing her attention on the Batman but watching the Flash in her peripheral view. _So, this must be after Starcrossed then. Flash hadn't been to the 'Cave before then._

"There's nothing better guaranteed to make a ninja mad than taking her mask," Cade snarled as she spoke, her Brooklyn accent heavier with her anger. "That, and using sedatives to knock an opponent out is just _low_. Not at all honorable."

"Honorable?" Batman asked, one eyebrow raised, still watching her suspiciously, "_You_ attacked _me_."

"I was only trying to protect them, in case you haven't figured that out, _Detective_." No sense in letting him know that she knew who they really were. That would only make them both more suspicious of her. Flash, to his credit, was actually pretty quiet. Usually, he never shut up. Oh course, his silence might have to do with the fact that he was gaping at her. Just like the Flash in the Justice League cartoons.

She turned bright green cat eyes to him, "What you looking at, Speedster?" Cade _hated_ being stared at. It was just another reminder of how different she was. She loved her dad more than life itself, but sometimes she'd find herself wishing that she looked like her mother. At least Annaleigh Hamato wasn't confined to the shadows 'cause of her looks.

Even the other mutants outside her family, besides the ones who'd fought with her parents against the FOH when she was just a baby, treated her differently. She returned her focus to the two men in front of her.

Even her favorite superheros were guilty of that prejudice apparently.

"How come you're dressed like Raph?" Flash asked, still wide-eyed. That shocked Cade more than anything else that had happened so far. Her pupils turned normal and her green eyes went wide. She hissed in shock.

"How the _shell_ do you know my dad's name?"

"Your _dad_?" The Scarlet Speedster asked her, just as shocked.

Batman crossed his arms, "A word, Flash." Cade and West were still staring at each other.

"Now!" Wayne snapped, heading to the huge computer.

Cade was convinced that they were the real deal when Flash zipped over to the computer ahead of Batman. She looked away stubbornly, pretending that she couldn't hear them like Batman thought. When, in fact, her acute hearing picked up _every_ word.

"Aw, c'mon, Bats. Don't tell me that you've never heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." The red-costumed man was clearly surprised. But Cade was now riveted. So, her family was fiction here, just like the Justice League was fiction back home.

"Maybe this is just like the Justice Guild. Remember when J'onn, GL, Hawkgirl and I ended up in that dimension? That was GL's favorite comic book and it was _real_. What if TMNT is real?"

"Well, that answers _that_," Cade spoke up from her cage. Flash jumped and Batman was glaring at her. She smirked, smug. "Acute hearing. And he has a point, Bats. You guys are just cartoon characters where I'm from. Makes sense if I'm a cartoon in your dimension. If that's what we're calling it." She looked pointedly at the Dark Knight. "Mind letting me out now? I'll be good if you are."

Flash chuckled but Batman glared. "Not until you tell me who you are. And _especially_ not until I have some _proof_."

"Why don't you just get the Martian down here? He'll be able to tell you that I'm a good guy too." Batman's glare deepened and she went cat-eyed again as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine," she huffed. "Name's Cade Hamato. I'm sixteen years old and I'm Raphael's daughter, which ya already know, Wally. And as to the proof that I'm not lying... Well, kind of obvious that I'm half mutant turtle. You can use that fancy computer of yours to check my DNA if you like, Bruce."

"And _no_, I'm no mind reader." Both men were openly staring at her, if Batman's glare could be called that. "Okay, there's your _proof_. Now, let me the shell out of here. I've gotta find my cousins."

Flash looked at Batman who nodded. Wally unlocked the door and Cade brushed past him, knocking him aside easily even though he was good couple of inches taller.

She didn't stop until she was standing toe to toe with Batman, glaring up at him, "Now, if you don't mind..." She held her hand out. "My sais, my shell cell, _and_ my mask. _Now_, please."

* * *

><p>Delaney woke in the sewers, Layla and Toby curled up against her sides with her arms around them. It had taken her <em>forever<em> to convince the younger two to go to sleep. They were _all_ worried about Cade. The periwinkle masked turtle didn't dare tell her cousins her fear that Batman might take Cade to Arkham. If their hotheaded cousin was there, it would take forever to get her out.

She was jerked out of her musings when she heard faint screams. Layla and Toby instantly woke up too.

"A woman's being mugged," Toby said, violet-eyed. "I can feel it."

"Where, Tob?" Layla asked quietly. His empathy wasn't just good for gauging another person's feelings. It also happened to be good at locating people too.

"Right above us."

Delaney led the way, running to the nearest manhole cover. Slowly and silently, she lifted the metal disk. They were a good twenty feet away from the criminals. And since the entrance to the sewers was in the shadows, they'd have the drop on the thugs.

She looked back down at her cousins and nodded her head. Silently, they crept toward the thugs and took them out. All without the woman even seeing them. _Shell. I wish that we could have done this last night. Then Cade would still be with us._

Little did Delany know that a figure in the alleyway was watching them closely.

Delaney turned around to find herself face to face with a gun. The guy aiming at her looked like one of those typical henchmen. Too big and not too bright. It was all to easy for her to knock the piece from his hand.

"Laney!" The genius young turtle whipped around when Layla screamed her name. Just in time to see her younger two cousins being thrown into the back of a van.

_Shell!_

She ran as fast as she could, but it wasn't fast enough, "Layla! Toby!"

The big black van sped away. There was nothing she could do.

The guy who'd tried to shoot her groaned from where he was lying on the ground. So, she hadn't managed to knock him out.

She could locate Layla and Toby easily by their shell cells. But, she wouldn't be able to come up with a plan to rescue them if she didn't know what she was up against.

Interrogation was Cade's strong point, not Delaney's. She was even more of a peacekeeper than her father was. And she _especially_ hated threatening others. But, if she was going to find out who had her cousins...

Delaney scowled and marched back to the goon, twirling her bo in one hand.

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><p><em>Please R&amp;R.<em>


	4. Old Enemy

_TMNT and Justice League do not belong to me. Just the Turtle kids & Co._

_Big thanks to Giai Kame and Purple 'N' Blue Wings for reviewing!_

_Oh, quick note. When I post the next chapter I'll be moving this story to the crossover section._

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><p>"How exactly are you planning on finding your 'cousins?'" Batman asked, watching Cade warily as she slipped her sais back into her belt. "They've already discovered my tracers."<p>

"Of course Delaney found them. She's our genius," Cade answered, replacing her mask in relief. This very mask was once her dad's when she was born.

"So, she's Donatello's kid?" Flash asked. Just from the way he was fidgeting, Cade knew that he was just itching to ask a hundred other questions too. That was so typically Flash.

She nodded, "And even if she wasn't, she would have found them anyway."

Batman arched a brow, still watching her every move. "And why is that?"

"'Cause we grew up reading about you in comic books and watching you in all those cartoons and movies, Bats. I know just about everything about you." Cade was getting awfully close to admitting that he was her favorite superhero, but she wasn't about to say that now. She was too miffed at him for sedating her and then putting her in a _cage_.

"I bet you've got some good dirt on him then," Wally said, smirking. Only to wince and flinch away from the bat glare directed his way. Cade couldn't help it. She cracked up.

"Well, _now_ I'm sure that you're definitely the Flash," the red-masked turtle girl managed to say when she finally caught her breath.

Batman was glaring at her again and she just glared right back. "You still haven't answered my question, Cade. How do you plan on finding the other turtles?"

The teenager pulled her shell cell off her belt. "Well, since Wally knows all about my dad and uncles, he already knows what a shell cell can do. But, for your benefit, Bats, this little baby can track any of my family's phones. And since we _always_ carry our phones with us... It won't take long to find them at all. But it wouldn't hurt if I tried calling them first," she finished as she hit Delaney's speed dial, her expression worried. They'd never been separated before. Cade just hoped that her younger cousins were okay.

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><p>Delaney had beat the tar out of the crook, and then some, but he still wasn't cracking. He just looked up at her.<p>

"There ain't nothin' you can do to make me talk, freak. I ain't scared of you." Without warning, he spit at her face and she dodged it.

"That's no way to treat a lady," the periwinkle masked genius said coldly, smacking him upside the head for the umpteenth time that morning. She was getting nowhere with this punk. If only Batman had nabbed her instead of Cade. She would have been able to quickly convince the Bat that they were good guys and Cade would have gotten this guy to talk.

Scratch that. Cade wouldn't have even bothered with interrogation. She would have just knocked the criminal out and followed their cousins' tracers. Her red-masked cousin would have rushed in blindly against whoever had Layla and Toby and would probably have gotten herself killed by now. So, in all, it was most likely for the best that Batman had the eldest turtle kid. At least Raphael's daughter wasn't be able to do something stupid at the moment.

Delaney rolled her eyes at herself for getting distracted and raised her bo staff threateningly once again when her phone buzzed at her belt. _That can only be Cay._ At least, she hoped it was.

"Genius Junior here." She wasn't about to give her name. Just in case it wasn't her hot-headed cousin. "That had better be you, Hothead Junior."

"You think you're _so_ funny," Delaney could practically hear Cade's eyes rolling. "Yep, it's me. You'll be proud of me. Instead of ticking people off, I _actually_ managed to make two new friends. If bat glares and superspeed questioning could be called new friends."

Translation: Cade was with Batman _and_ the Flash. And she'd somehow managed to get them to trust her in the short time that she'd been with them. That was pretty impressive.

"Anywho," Cade said, her mother's Southern accent sounding just for the slightest second. "Are you guys okay?"

Delaney smacked her bo against the thug's skull, knocking him unconscious. She knew that he wasn't going to talk. At least, not to her. And since the Batman now knew that she and her cousins weren't criminals, Laney doubted that he'd have anything against interrogating this guy himself.

"I'm fine. But Layla and Toby have been turtlenapped."

* * *

><p>Layla woke to find herself tied up and gagged. The last thing she remembered was screaming Delaney's name as the van doors closed on her and Toby. <em>Toby! Where did they take him?<em> The mint green turtle looked around the small room, but her darker-skinned cousin was nowhere to be seen.

And whoever had bound her obviously didn't know that she was a shapeshifter. This was gonna be hard. And painful. But she needed to get out. And she needed to find Toby. He was most definitely just as scared as she was. Probably freaking out too. Like he always did.

Concentrating hard, like her mother had taught her, Layla focused on a mental picture of a human girl. Slowly, painfully, her shell disappeared and her body thinned. Being a girl turtle, she was thinner than her father but not as thin as her mother thanks to her bulky shell. And, now that it was temporarily gone, the ropes slipped right off of her. She let go of her focus and her form shifted back to normal. Oh, how she hated full body transformations. And gags.

She pulled the gag out of her mouth, grateful to finally be rid of the oily thing. No telling where that rag had come from. _Just thinking about that is creeping me out. Focus. Gotta find Toby. I wish Laney and Cay were here. They could track his scent. And know if any guards were coming._

Speaking of which, she'd been so focused on getting out of those ropes that she hadn't been paying any attention to her surroundings. And there was the sound of footsteps coming closer.

Layla automatically reached for her katanas. That weren't there. _Duh, shell for brains! They wouldn't have let me keep them!_ The footsteps were getting closer and she looked around frantically for a way to get out. When she looked up at the ceiling, she knew that she'd struck gold. This must be some kind of old warehouse, judging from the size of that vent. Now, all she had to do was get in there and have the vent cover back in place before the guards came into the room.

* * *

><p>Toby opened violet eyes and immediately knew that he was far away from Layla. He couldn't feel her. He couldn't feel the other girls either. But he could sure feel all the thugs in this place. However, that didn't scare him as much as being separated from his cousins did. What if they did something to Layla? What if she was already in the bottom of the river?<p>

And even though he'd seen Delaney flatten the guy with the gun, Toby was scared that the goon might have actually managed to shoot her. And what if Batman had taken Cade to Arkham? The doctors there might have already dissected her!

The youngest turtle started hyperventilating, forcing himself to calm down when he began to choke on the gag. Somehow, he managed to relax. If only just a little.

Normally, Toby hated being empathic. But, at times like these, maybe his ability could come in handy. Not as handy as the girls' abilities. Layla, if she was still alive as he hoped, could easily slip away. And Cade and Delaney were both formidable fighters.

And Toby was stuck with useless empathy. Well, maybe he could use it to get an idea of who had kidnapped him.

But he couldn't sense any conniving masterminds. So, none of the big criminals were here at the moment. Just henchmen that definitely weren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

If he was Delaney, he could have convinced them to let him go. But no, he was just Michelangelo's kid. A goof, and not much good at anything really. Yeah, Dad said that he was a good ninja, but how could Toby fight when he was tied up?

_I wish Grandpa Splinter was still here. He'd have gotten me out of here a long time ago._

Well, there was no sense in wishing that his dead grandfather was there. He'd just have to wait for Delaney to find him. If she was okay, it would be no time at all before she showed up. But, if she was hurt, like he feared...

The thud of boots jolted Toby out of his thoughts. Whoever was coming was not only smarter than everyone else, but he was also very... _satisfied_ with himself. That made sense, since his henchmen got away clean with a kidnapping. The teenager straightened himself as much as he could with the ropes wrapped around him, his shell braced against the wall.

Violet eyes widened when the door opened and he saw the man in the hallway. No way! _How the shell is he even here?_ The man smirking at him wasn't from the cartoons like Batman was. In fact, Aunt Annaleigh had shown him a mugshot of this guy that had been taken a few years before Toby had been born. Granted, the gangster was considerably older now, but Toby could never forget that face. A face of one of the men who'd almost killed _all_ the mutants in his world.

No telling what the man had planned for Toby, but judging from the evil smirk on the old guy's face, the yellow-masked turtle knew that it definitely wasn't an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii.

The gangster stepped closer and Mike's son cringed against the wall, blue eyes wide with fear and very sure now that he probably wouldn't survive the night.

* * *

><p><em>Please R&amp;R.<em>


	5. To the Rescue

_TMNT and Justice League do not belong to me. Just the Turtle kids & Co._

_Big thanks to Giai Kame for reviewing!  
><em>

* * *

><p>Layla searched the entire warehouse from top to bottom, even while all the goons were on high alert since she'd mysteriously managed to disappear. She found her belt, mask, katanas, and shell cell. But no Toby. <em>They must have taken him somewhere else.<em> But where?

She cowered in a shadowy corner, her skin and shell black, as one thug ran past her hiding place. They were getting too close for comfort. She had to get out. Now.

But how the shell was she going to do that? All of the entrances were being watched. Unless she went up to the roof. She'd already been up there once while she'd searched for her cousin. None of the other buildings were close enough for her to jump onto. The only way off was a black helicopter. And Layla was not Delaney. There was no way that she'd be able to fly that thing. It was probably booby-trapped anyway. No one in their right mind would dare leave a helicopter unguarded like that. Unless they weren't in their right mind.

Leo's daughter shivered. Just thinking about Batman's rogues, and whichever one might have Toby, sent a chill up her spine. She seriously hoped that it wasn't the Joker. She'd always been terrified of him, even though he'd always got beat by Batman in the end.

Her shell cell buzzed quietly for just a quick second. But it was enough to nearly make Layla jump out of her shell. _I completely forgot about using my phone! I've got to be the stupidest turtle in existence!_

That buzz had been too quick, which meant that someone hadn't tried to call her. Someone, most likely Delaney, had turned Layla's tracer on. Which meant that at least one of her cousins was still okay and was coming for her.

The silvery-blue masked turtle looked around her and there wasn't a goon in sight. But, being that one just passed her less than a minute ago, she wasn't about to take her chances. The safest place to hide while she tried calling Delaney was on the roof. She just hoped that none of the guards had gone up there while she'd been searching for Toby.

* * *

><p>As Cade went hysterical on the other end, Delaney's phone started beeping. Someone was trying to call her. <em>Please let it be Toby and Layla.<em> A quick glance at the screen confirmed that it was her shapeshifting cousin. _Hallelujah! One down, one to go._

"I gotta go, Cay. Layla's trying to call me. I'll call you back in just a minute."

"You'd better," Cade growled and her end of the line went dead. Cade was nothing if not pragmatic. She knew when it was time to put on the brakes. Even if she made it clear that she'd much rather keep going full throttle.

Delaney switched over, "Little Fearless, is that you?"

"Laney! Thank goodness! Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Calm down, Layla. Yes, I'm fine. So, is Cade. I don't know exactly where I am, but I do know where I am in relation to where you are."

"Good, I guess. I managed to get away, but I'm stuck on the roof. There's no way out of this warehouse. And they're getting real close to finding me again." Layla sounded panicked.

"Okay, calm down. I'll figure something out."

"Laney, I searched the entire place for Toby and I didn't find even a single trace of him!" The mint green turtle was frantic now. "They must have taken him somewhere else. Or he's-"

"I know he's not there. His tracer's showing up at the opposite end of the city. But I'm sure he's fine. Probably scared witless," Delaney interrupted. She didn't want Layla to finish that thought. The thought that had begun to gnaw at her mind too. Toby had better be okay. Or a whole bunch of goons were going to Arkham in _pieces_. _Okay, now I sound like Uncle Raph and Cade._ _Perspective, Delaney. Focus. Find a way to get Layla out, then you can figure out how the shell you're going to get Toby._

_Okay, how am I going to get Layla out? Probably best if I get Cade to convince Batman to do it. He'll be able to use his Batwing to pick up Layla. That is, if the thing's in working order right now._

"Layla, I need you to hold on for as long as you can. I'm gonna call Cade again and let her and Batman know where you are. I'll call you back as soon as I'm done talking to them, okay?" She tried to her best to keep her voice reassuring.

"Okay, but tell them to hurry! I can hear them getting closer!"

* * *

><p>"Delaney, is Layla okay?" Cade asked, not even bothering to greet her cousin when she called back. Laney would understand. Their cousins' safety was the priority here.<p>

Flash was fidgeting nervously, obviously trying to decide whether or not he should try to comfort her. And the gaze that Batman was directing at her wasn't hostile anymore. He could see how worried she was about her cousins. Cade had never been one to hide her emotions. Like her mother, she just wasn't capable of it. Especially when her younger cousins' lives were on the line. Like right now.

"She's fine, Cay," Delaney soothed. _Shell, she's just like her mom and dad. How the shell can she be so calm right now?_ "She just needs someone to pick her up from a warehouse rooftop. You got her coordinates on your phone?"

_Oh yeah, Dummy! I'm such an idiot! I told Batman about the tracer and I didn't even bother to turn it on!_ Quickly, Cade hit a button on the side of her phone, "I do now."

"Okay, then you can get your new friends to go after her."

"How come you can't?" Cade was bewildered. Yes, Delaney always took her time to plan things out, but Cade had never known her genius cousin to refuse a mission like this. Especially since Layla's life was on the line right then.

"'Cause, number one, I've got no way of getting her out of there. I'll just end up a prisoner with her. Number two, I've got my own prisoner to mind right now."

Cade badly wanted to ask Delaney what the shell she was talking about and why her genius cousin was holding someone hostage, but that would have to wait. "Okay, I'll call you when we've got her."

"Alrighty. I've gotta call Layla and let her know that help is on the way. Don't forget to pick me up too, 'kay?" And the line went dead.

"Well?" Batman asked, arching a brow.

"Yeah, Cade, are your cousins okay?" Flash asked zipping closer and laying a hand on her shoulder. The sudden movement almost made her punch him out of reflex. Almost. Wally was gonna have to knock that out soon or he'd probably end up with a broken nose. Cade was well aware that she wasn't known for pulling her punches.

Cade sighed and pinched the bridge of her beak, "Delaney is. And Layla is too, for the moment." She plowed on before either of them could ask. "Layla's cornered on the roof of some warehouse by..." she looked down at the tracking display on her phone. "By the river, it looks like."

"I know exactly what you're talking about," Batman said gruffly. But he wasn't moving. "Flash, I need you to go to the abandoned warehouse at the docks. The one that we raided last week. Bring 'Layla' back here."

Cade grinned as Flash nodded and disappeared. "Layla will flip out. He's one of her favorites." She raised her eye ridges at Wayne, "Let me guess. The Batwing took some damage recently, huh?"

His benign gaze turned to another scathing glare and Cade just chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"No. Flash, for obvious reasons, is the best suited for a quick extraction. And we still have to find 'Delaney' and 'Toby.'" By the way he said her cousins' names, Cade knew that he still was wary of the four of them. But, since he'd sent Flash off by himself, she knew that Batman believed that they weren't going to try anything. He was just being wary out of habit now.

Cade resisted the urge to roll her bright green eyes again. Instead, she went cat-eyed as she looked back at the screen of her phone. "Well... I think she's..."

"I thought you knew everything about Gotham," he said scornfully.

She looked up and growled at him, "You know, for the World's Greatest Detective, you sure are slow on the uptake, Bats. I said I know just about everything about _you_. Not _Gotham_. And if you wanna be so smug, then you can figure this out." Cade shoved the phone at him after she thumbed Toby's tracer off. They still had no idea who had their younger cousin. She could hear Grandpa Splinter in the back of her mind, advising her to be cautious with one of those hard to understand Japanese proverbs that he'd loved so much.

Batman took one quick look at the phone. "Crime Alley, by the theater," he said, not meeting her eyes. He turned and she followed him to the Batmobile. Cade didn't even bother getting mad. She knew this upset him. Where Delaney's tracer was sitting was almost right on top of the spot where his parents had been murdered. Bruce avoided that place if he could, whenever he could, only going there once a year with Leslie Thompkins.

And Cade was suddenly ambushed by grief over Grandpa Splinter. She still hadn't really cried for him yet. But she couldn't afford to now. Her cousins were counting on her. She was their leader and she would not let them down.

"Look, Bats, if you don't want to go there, I can have Laney meet us somewhere else." She stubbornly met the glare he directed at her. He didn't like talking about his past, and Cade was getting dangerously close to that subject. But she didn't care. "You're not the only one who's lost someone, Bruce," she finished, angrily buckling her seat belt. She was too mad and upset to even think about freaking out over getting to ride in the infamous Batmobile. Not that she would have anyway. Freaking out was Toby's department. Cade hoped that he was okay. Either way, she knew that he had to be scared out of his mind. Like Uncle Mikey had been when he was a teenager, Toby was always the first one of them to freak out. And over the littlest things too. Too much sugar in his diet and too many B-rated monster movies.

* * *

><p><em>Please R&amp;R.<em>


	6. Panic

_TMNT and Justice League do not belong to me. Just the Turtle kids & Co._

_Big thanks to Purple 'N' Blue Wings, syzygy101, and Giai Kame for reviewing!  
><em>

_I know it's hard to believe, but I'm alive! Sorry for the delay and here's the next chapter!_

* * *

><p>Layla brandished her katanas, her skin and eyes now a deep red. She was trying to intimidate the trio of henchmen that now had her cornered on the rooftop.<p>

It wasn't working.

Originally, there had been ten goons that had found her up here. These three were a lot smarter than the other seven that were currently unconscious. _It's like these guys have fought ninjas before._ That unsettled her. How on earth...?

The shapeshifter lunged at the nearest of the three, only to be driven back by the other two. They were herding her toward the ledge! She knew for a fact that she was too high up to make it safely to the ground if she tried to jump. Layla wasn't like Cade, Delaney, and Aaron and she knew it. The one time she'd tried to jump that far, she'd broken her ankle which had earned her a stern lecture from Leonardo after Donatello had managed to convince him that she'd be okay. _I wish Daddy was here._

_Priorities._ If she jumped and broke her ankle now, she'd never get away.

There was a whooshing sound and suddenly someone in red spandex was standing between her and the thugs, who brandished their weapons.

"Now, that's not nice at all," Flash said before disappearing in, well, a flash. The next second, all three goons were tied and the Scarlet Speedster bowed theatrically to Layla.

The mint green turtle just stared back, wide eyed and completely unable to speak. _Flash is here too?_

Flash laughed at her expression, but one of the criminals that she'd knocked out before he showed up started moving. And Layla's training kicked back in, quickly pulling her out of her shock. The small turtle delivered a roundhouse kick to the gangster's head at the same time that a cry of alarm came from the stairwell.

"More guards!" Layla cried out, throwing one of Cade's smoke pellets at the stairway. Without warning, someone picked her up from behind and they were rushing away at lightning speed.

She would have been excited, but the question of Toby's fate hung in the back of her mind. _Where is he? Is he okay?_

* * *

><p>The familiar man, the one Toby's Aunt Annaleigh had shown him the mug shot of, reappeared several times throughout the night. Every time he was gloating. About how, even though his parents and aunts and uncles had managed to beat him when Cade was a baby, they stood no chance against him now. Highton kept going on about a foolproof plan he claimed to have. He'd never said anything else to the thirteen-year-old turtle. But what he had said was enough to keep the empathic turtle from trying to escape. Highton's henchmen on the other side of Gotham had Layla. And if Toby didn't cooperate, the old man would give them a signal. And they would kill her.<p>

Highton planned to use both younger turtles as bait. The old man had explained that neither Toby nor Layla were his target. Catching them was just an added bonus. No, the FOH's real target was Cade. It had been Cade's parent's that had beat Highton in the first place. Aunt Annaleigh had killed his daughter, Holly. Highton was planning on returning the favor.

And there was nothing Toby could do about it. Except hope that someone telepathic could hear him. If Batman was real here, maybe the Martian Manhunter was too? _If you can hear me... Help!_

* * *

><p>Delaney stood on the rooftop, lazily twirling her bo staff as she waited for Cade and Batman. Outwardly, she appeared to be bored as she watched over her prisoner. Inwardly... She was panicking. No word from Cade on either Toby or Layla. <em>Those two had <em>better_ be alright._

There was the sound of an engine. Not the Battle Shell, but still an engine she would know anywhere. The Batmobile. _About time._

Cade was the first on the rooftop. As soon as she saw Delaney, the red-masked turtle ran towards her, full-tilt. Batman followed more sedately, a grim look on his face. _I wonder what's got his cape in a knot?_

That was the only thought she managed before Cade body-slammed her, almost knocking her over. Laney returned the hug, pulling back and scrutinizing the turtle who could easily be her sister with a practiced eye. _No injuries. Good._ Judging from the look on the green-eyed turtle's face, Cade was thinking the same thing about her.

"Don't you _dare_ scare me like that again, Cade," Delaney threatened with a glare and deep-chested growl.

Cade just rolled her eyes and didn't comment. Which was unusual for Raphael's daughter. She usually had something to say. _Probably trying to make sure that her favorite superhero has a good impression of her._

Batman just glared at Delaney, who still flinched a little even though she'd grown up seeing that infamous look, as he bent to examine her prisoner.

"You tried to interrogate him yourself." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. He knows where our cousins are. I'm sure of it," she finished as she twirled her bo once before securing it back to her shell.

"You did a _horrible_ job, Laney," Cade commented.

Delaney just went cat-eyed.

* * *

><p>Cade laughed as her favorite cousin gave her their own version of the bat-glare. Batman looked up at her and she just shook her head.<p>

"Any news on Toby and Layla?" Delaney asked, drawing the Dark Knight's attention to herself and away from Cade.

The older turtle girl spoke up before Batman could, "Flash has Layla. They're gonna meet us back at the cave. As for Toby... Well... We know where his phone is."

"I'll check into it as soon as we're done here," Batman said as he grabbed the semi-unconscious man and made him sit up. The goon groaned and his eyelids fluttered. Whatever Delaney did to him left him with two nice sized black eyes.

The goon gasped in surprise when he saw who was now standing over him. Batman had drawn himself to his full height, his cape snapping behind him in the wind. The thunderclap was a nice touch too. It wasn't long before the thug started spilling his guts.

"I d-don't k-know where th-they are. I swear!" he babbled almost unintelligibly to Batman's question. The Bat's glare hardened and he lifted the man by the collar of his shirt and let him dangle over the side of the building. "I s-swear! I d-don't know w-where the FOH are k-keeping them! H-Highton never told us!"

Cade and Delaney barely managed to keep themselves from gasping. FOH. Highton.

Mutant-killers.

_Wait a sec. Bats said 'I.' He's not planning on letting us tag along with him._ As soon the thug was unconscious again, both teenaged turtles rounded on him.

Delaney just remained cat-eyed while Cade was steaming mad, "What do you mean, 'I?' You sure as shell are _not_ leaving us behind. We _are_ coming with you, Batman. Toby's our cousin."

"And you have no idea how the criminals operate here. If I could easily beat you in a fight, you're no match for them either," he finished, glaring at her.

"The thing is, Bats," Delaney, ever the peace-keeper, interrupted. "We know all about the FOH."

* * *

><p>Annaleigh gently hummed the old Cherokee chant as she rubbed her very round belly, trying to soothe her hyperactive twins. Both of them were just as bad as Cade had been. At least they'd waited until morning to start. As she made her way to the kitchen, she noticed that the only other one currently up was Leo. <em>That's odd.<em> Usually, her oldest child was meditating with the blue-masked turtle at this time. But Leonardo was definitely alone. Instead of interrupting him, she decided to check on the kids.

Carefully watching her steps, Annaleigh climbed the stairs up to the extra room that the three girls shared. She knocked gently before opening the door and switching the light on. What she saw nearly took her breath away. "RAPHAEL!" she bellowed in a panic.

In no time, the amber-eyed turtle was at her side, picking her up, "Are you alright, Wildcat? Are you in pain?" She shook her head, too scared to protest about him carrying her downstairs. Leo approached just as the rest of the family appeared out of their rooms. Aaron, Trevor, and Yoshi were the only kids in the Lair.

Raph set her on the couch and settled next to her on her left, wrapping an arm around her shoulders possessively and rubbing her belly with his other hand, clearly shook up by his wife's panic.

"What's the big idea, Annie?" That was Mikey. He was still rubbing his eyes.

"Mike's right, Ann," Keira interjected, wrapping an arm around her husband's waist and yawning. "If you're not having contractions, then why are you yelling?"

Trevor came and sat by his mother's right side and she wrapped a tight arm around her son's strong shoulders.

"You haven't noticed?" Annaleigh asked breathlessly. "The girls and Toby are gone!"

* * *

><p><em>Please R&amp;R.<em>


	7. Details

_TMNT does not belong to me. Just Cade, Delaney & Co._

_Big thanks to Purple N' Blue Wings, Giai Kame, LunaTheLoneWolf, syzygy101, magical fan18, ZathuraRoy, TMNTfan95, Flamestarter, and Tubachick101 for reviewing!  
><em>

* * *

><p>When Annie had yelled her husband's name, Leo had immediately thought that she was going into early labor. So focused was he on his brother's wife, that he didn't even notice that Toby and the girls were gone. Not until Annie had brought it up. At his sister-in-law's panicked exclamation, he'd immediately noticed the absence of the four young turtles. <em>Layla.<em> His baby girl, his only child, was gone. So were two of his nieces and one of his nephews. He shivered and Stephanie wrapped her arms around his waist, her usually silver hair turning black with worry.

"Maybe they just sneaked out, Aunt Annie," Aaron offered hopefully. The poor kid had already had a rough day. Out of the entire family, April, Casey, and a seventeen year old Shadow included, he'd handled Splinter's death the worst. _And now his sister and cousins are gone without a trace._

Little Yoshi, now wrapped firmly in Michelangelo's arms, opened sleepy violet eyes and lifted his head from his dad's shoulder, "Yeah. Toby did snuck out one time."

Mikey chuckled at his son, planting a kiss on the five-year-old's temple, "That's _sneak_ out, little buddy." He turned to face the rest of the family as he slid an arm around Keira's shoulders, "But what I don't get is why the girls are gone too."

"I'm with you on that one, Mike," Raph spoke up from his wife's side. "Cade may be a lot like me, but she's got your sense of responsibility, Wildcat."

Annaleigh nodded, but it was Trevor who spoke, "But Cay _did_ chase after Toby that time he took off. Without telling you or Uncle Leo, Dad."

Donatello's voice interrupted from his Lab, "I don't think they took off. At least, not on purpose."

Amie's brow furrowed as she moved from her son's side to join her husband, "What do you mean, Einstein?"

Donnie looked up from the unidentified piece of tech that he'd found the last time that the four older turtles had gone on patrol, "This has been moved. And tampered with."

"_Toby_," Mikey and Keira groaned in unison.

Raph chuckled, "Well, the apple sure doesn't fall too far from the tree. Ow! What was that for, Wildcat?"

"Our daughter and your brothers' children are missing, Raphael," she growled out, the red-masked turtle wincing at her tone. "This is no laughing matter, _di hi_. We have absolutely _no_ idea where they went." She absentmindedly grabbed Raph's hand, the one that was still rubbing her belly, as her expression quickly changed from irritated back to worried out of her mind. _I think Annie's mood swings are worse this time around. But, she's right. How the shell are we gonna find the kids now?_

* * *

><p>Layla was standing in front of the computer with Flash when the Batmobile pulled into the 'Cave. The hatch slid back and her older cousins nearly tackled her, hugging her so hard that she was sure that her shell was about to crack. But she could care less. They were safe and, for the most part, back together.<p>

Both of the older turtles pulled back and Laney placed her hands on Layla's shoulders, bending slightly so that they were at eye level, "You okay, Layla? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

The silver-blue masked turtle shook her head, her silver-brown eyes darkening to her father's deep brown in relief, "No. They gagged me and tied me up. But that was it."

"If they tied you up, how did you manage to escape?" Batman narrowed his eyes at the youngest turtle who shivered. _I don't have to be scared of him. He just wants to know the details. That's it._

She opened her mouth to answer, but the Flash beat her to the punch, "'Cause she's a shape-shifter like J'onn, Bats."

Delaney was shaking her head, "Her abilities aren't that advanced. And they're mostly out of her control."

Layla's skin turned dark green, almost black, in irritation, "Don't talk about me like I'm not here, Laney. You're always doing that!"

Delaney was about to retort, but Cade snapped, "That's enough!" Batman simply watched with crossed arms as Flash gazed uncertainly at the three of them. Cade's voice turned softer, but it was still firm, "We've still got to find Toby. And we're still lost. Now's not the time to start blowing up on each other. I know that you're both frustrated, but keep a lid on it, okay?"

And that was why Daddy had picked Cade to lead instead of Delaney. Yeah, Cay still blew up occasionally, but, when push came to shove, she was Aunt Annie through and through. She could keep her cool and still refuse to take crap from _anyone_.

"But how the shell are we gonna get Toby out of there, Cade?" Delaney asked. _Get Toby out of where?_

Batman stepped forward, dropping his arms to his sides, "You can start by explaining what the FOH is."

* * *

><p>Toby had tried several times, over the past hour, to call out to the Martian with his mind. Nada. <em>I guess I've got to be a telepath if I want to be able to get his attention.<em> The only time he'd seen J'onn respond to another's mental call was when he'd been telepathically searching for Batman. _I think that was the episode with the Injustice League._ To this day, it was still his favorite. He shook his head, closing violet eyes in frustration at his own short attention span. _Gotta focus. How the shell am I gonna get out of here?_

His hands were still tied behind his shell and Highton had replaced the gag. He'd tried to spit it out, but it was tied _way_ too tight. He tried twisting his wrists, hoping that whoever had tied the knot had been careless. No such luck.

If Toby hadn't been gagged, he would have tried talking some of his captors into letting go. _Fat chance of that happening._ He sighed, leaning his head back to rest against the wall behind him. _I'm a sitting duck. I mean, turtle. There's nothing I can do but wait for Laney to find me._

_I hope Layla's okay._ The last he'd seen of his youngest cousin was some goon tying up her unconscious form. _Cade's with a good guy, though. And Laney's still out there. Everything will be okay._

_I hope._

* * *

><p>Delaney opened her mouth to explain, but Layla interrupted, "Where <em>is<em> Toby? Is he still alive?" The mint green turtle started turning white with fear, "They didn't kill him, did they?"

Flash placed a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder, "I don't think so, kiddo. You're cousins aren't worried, so I don't think you need to worry either."

"Flash is right," Cade spoke up, cutting Delaney off. _Again. Just stay calm, don't get mad. They're not meaning to do it. And Layla needs to be reassured before we start delving into details._ "We know where Toby is. And killing him is _not_ the FOH's style. They're keeping him as bait."

"You were saying," Batman said, looking pointedly at Delaney. The blue-and-hazel-eyed turtle sighed in relief that she was finally going to be able to say what was on her mind, "Friends of Humanity. They base themselves off of a gang in the X-men comics. And they dedicate themselves sorely to the eradication of mutants."

Batman's only reaction to the news was his narrowed eyes. Flash, however, looked completely horrified, "You mean that they're killers?"

Both Delaney and Layla nodded their heads as Cade spoke up yet again, "They almost killed all of the mutants on our Earth with a kind of airbourne toxin when I was just a baby. Our parents and a small group of mutants went to stop them. Most of our group was killed."

"Including Uncle Aaron," Delaney finished, thinking of the picture that her mother and Aunt Annie still kept of their burly brother. Cade said that she could remember bits and pieces about him, like his voice. _I wish I did too. But he died when Mom was just barely pregnant with me and Aaron. I wonder if he was anything like Uncle Casey? Grandpa Splinter was the only one willing to talk about Uncle Aaron. And now he's gone too._ Laney fought the urge to sob. But they couldn't afford to grieve right then. _Got to stay focused. I can cry later._

Layla's eyes turned silver as her brow furrowed. _She looks like Uncle Leo when she does that._ The younger turtle looked up at Cade, "But I thought that Highton and the rest of those bad guys were in jail. Daddy said that they was in there for the rest of their lives."

Batman answered, beating Cade. His voice was unusually gentle as he addressed the youngest Hamato, "Prisoners escape, Layla. But I'll do everything in my power to stop him."

_My. Here we go again._ Delaney rolled her eyes as her hot-tempered cousin glared at the Bat. Cade's pupils changed back to cat-like slits, "You're not doing this without us, Bruce Wayne. If you say 'I' or 'my' one more time..."

His hardened glare met her green eyes, but she just glared right back._ Typical Cay. Typical _hard-headed_ turtle._ Batman shook his head, "I was only speaking for myself. I usually don't like letting the rest of the League into Gotham. But for this, I'll have to make an exception. If we're to stop this 'FOH' completely, that is."

* * *

><p>Batman, or Bruce as they were told to call him out of costume, had sent the Flash to the Watchtower to debrief the Martian on what was going on. According to what the turtle girls were told, J'onn would be responsible for choosing League members that were best suited for this kind of operation.<p>

And, although she knew that they were finally making some progress, Cade just couldn't sleep. Alfred had offered them three of the guest bedrooms, but they'd declined. Choosing instead to sleep on the couches and floor of the den. Where they could see each other if they were to suddenly wake in the middle of the night. Cade had lost count of how many times that they'd had camp-outs like this in the Lair. Doing so tonight was more for familiarity and comfort than anything else. That, and the girls were used to sharing a room.

Cade stood up from the floor and looked over at both of her sleeping cousins. Layla was young and had hardly slept since Cade's capture, so it was only natural that she'd zonked out first. What caught the green-eyed turtle off guard was the fact that Delaney had followed suit not long after. _Laney hardly ever sleeps when she's this worried._

But then, in the week leading to Grandpa Splinter's death, Delaney had slept a lot less than was normal even for the three geniuses. The whole family, besides Momma and Yoshi, of course, had taken turns staying with Splinter during the night. Cade, on her watches, had preferred to just sleep curled up next to him. But she knew that Delaney would just sit with him, downing as many cups of coffee as she could to stay awake in case he'd started to go downhill. Aaron had been the same way.

And, even though they knew that Toby was in the FOH's clutches, they knew that he wouldn't be harmed. The FOH wanted to get all of them at once. And they couldn't do that with a dead turtle on their hands.

Cade shook her head, hard, trying to get the horried image out of her thoughts. _I'm not gonna sleep tonight, that's for sure._ She peered out of the doorway and into the hall. _Might as well look around since I've got nothing better to do._

* * *

><p><em>Next: Cade's caught snooping and Donatello makes a mistake...<em>

_Please R&R._


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